Caucus of Women Legislators ROOM 460 STATE HOUSE BOSTON MASSACHUSETTS 02133 617 722 2266 1st Quarter 2010 Caucus Celebrates 35th with Exhibit comed its first woman, Sybil State House Library. It will re- Holmes. Both were Republi- main on display until June 11th. SAVE THE cans. Senate President Murray and Decades later, after many the Caucus Chairs spoke at the DATE! more firsts, a group of female unveiling of the exhibit. They Representatives formed the were joined by current and for- Caucus of Women Legislators mer legislators who contributed Girl Power on the Hill in 1975. In its thirty-fifth anni- compelling personal anecdotes Massachusetts Girl Former legislators Suzanne Bump versary year, the Caucus has about their experiences in poli- Scouts (l) and Lois Pines peruse the exhibit grown to over 25% of the Leg- tics and government. Former April 21st islature and has one of its own, legislators in attendance included In 1923, for the first time in the the esteemed Senate President Senator Lois Pines, Senator Commonwealth’s history, Mas- Therese Murray of Plymouth, Carol Amick, Representative Pay Equity Forum sachusetts did not have an all- presiding in the Senate. Suzanne Bump, Representative April 15th male Legislature. Three years These facts and more are Susan Rourke and Representa- 11:00, Room 222 with Dr. Evelyn Murphy after women won the right to featured in a special exhibit tive Anne Paulsen. vote, two women won seats in created by the State House Li- Several legislators’ biogra- the House of Representatives. brary, Special Collections and phies and memorabilia are in- Dr. Judith Wurtman The first woman to hold a the Massachusetts Caucus of cluded as part of the exhibit. MIT Nutritionist Committee Chair in the Massa- Women Legislators in a col- Senate President Therese May 11th chusetts Legislature was Repre- laborative effort to mark the Murray, Senator Patricia Jehlen, sentative Mary Livermore Nor- Caucus’ 35th anniversary and Representative Alice Wolf, for- ris Barrows of Melrose. She Women’s History month. mer Senators Carol Amick and was appointed to head the Joint The History of Women in Lois Pines, and former Repre- Committee on Pensions and Massachusetts Politics opened sentatives Barbara Gray, Marie Inside this issue: Old Age Assistance in 1935. on March 3rd during the anni- Howe and Mary Jeanette Murray Two years later, the Senate wel- versary celebration outside the are all featured in the display. CO-CHAIRS MESSAGE 2 JAMES REVIEWS RULES 165 & COUNTING... 2 HARASSMENT LAW 3 The Caucus of Women Leg- James reviewed the rules of The event was well attended islators sponsored an informa- debate on the House floor as by legislators and staff, includ- tional session on the rules of the well as special rules pertaining to ing Caucus members Represen- MODR WORKSHOP 3 House of Representatives on the budget. He went on to stress tative Alice K. Wolf (D- February 9th with House Clerk the tradition of uniformity, clar- Cambridge), Representative MCGOVERN HONORED 4 Steven T. James. ity, and efficiency, explaining Ellen Story (D-Amherst), and Elected Clerk in 1999 after the reasoning behind both ar- Representative Rosemary serving with the House of Rep- chaic and more recent imple- Sandlin (D-Agawam). The CAUCUS INTERNS 4 resentatives since 1964, James mentations. During the forum, Caucus extends its thanks to has seen numerous changes and James affirmed that, “The most Mr. James for his effort spent in AWARDS 5 has a thorough knowledge of successful legislators are those preparation for the highly infor- the history of the House. who know the rules.” mative seminar. Caucus of Women Legislators A Message from the Co-Chairs Dear Colleagues, Staff and Friends, The initial months of 2010 have borne progress on many fronts but have also under- scored considerable challenges. The economic downturn continues to affect our con- stituents, our communities, and every aspect of our work here in the State House. As we know, women are disproportionately impacted by the recession, and the most vulner- Senator Patricia D. Jehlen (D- able are hit the hardest. Somerville) and Representative Alice K. Wolf (D-Cambridge) We not only face continuing economic distress but also the potential for fewer women in the House and the Senate in the next session than have served in the past decade. The loss of the experience and wisdom of our friends and colleagues will be sorely felt as we struggle to meet short- term needs without sacrificing long-term stability. We encourage you to run for a seat, and will be here for support. As we approach the end of the session, the Legislature has taken on education reform, harassment protection, safe driving and bullying in our schools. Yet to be considered, however, is legislation correcting pay inequities for women in the Commonwealth. For every dollar made by a man in this country, a woman doing the same work – if she’s lucky – makes seventy-eight cents. Please join us at our Pay Equity Forum on April 15th here at the State House; it’s time that we did something about it. The Caucus takes pride in remaining at the forefront of addressing those issues which disparately impact women. Thank you, friends and colleagues, for your continuing support of our endeavors. Sincerely, Senator Patricia D. Jehlen and Representative Alice K. Wolf Co-Chairs, Women's Legislative Caucus 165 & COUNTING... 165 and Therese Murray (D- Plymouth) with an Counting, jointly opportunity to honor recently elected hosted by Senate women legislators of this session amongst President their colleagues, as well as the former Therese Murray women legislators in attendance, while and the Massa- introducing the leadership of the Caucus. chusetts Caucus Speaking from the Senate rostrum, Cau- of Women Legis- cus Co-Chairs Senator Patricia D. Jehlen Sen. Patricia Jehlen address- ing former legislators in the lators, was held (D- Somerville) and Representative Alice Senate Chamber with Senate to honor current K. Wolf (D- Cambridge) praised the many President Therese Murray and former fe- former women legislators in attendance for and House Speaker Robert DeLeo male legislators their unyielding integrity and pioneering of the Common- spirits that paved the way for today’s wealth on the evening of January 13th. women legislators. (l-r) Rep. Kay Khan (D-Newton), Rep. Alice Wolf (D-Cambridge) & Former Sen. Shannon The event, held in the historic Senate Speaker of the House Robert A. DeLeo O’Brien Reading Room at the State House, (D- Winthrop) joined the Senate President brought together over thirty former and Caucus as a special guest for the eve- women legislators and most of those cur- ning. DeLeo spoke passionately on the President’s office, Senator Jehlen’s office, rently serving. importance of women’s leadership within Representative Wolf’s office, Representa- Since the establishment of the Massa- government. tive Fox’s office and Representative Pro- chusetts Legislature in 1630, a total of The Caucus exclusively employed vost’s office. Their efforts on behalf of 165 women have been elected to serve. women-owned businesses for the occasion. the Caucus were greatly appreci- The reunion provided Senate President Special thanks goes to staff in the Senate ated. Page 2 Caucus of Women Legislators Harassment Prevention Enacted roommate or spouse. Until now, legislation was the product of around 66% of stalking and har- countless hours of pro bono assment victims were not covered assistance from top attorneys at by the law since they did not qual- Boston’s Mintz, Levin, Cohn, IN A VICTORY ify for protection under G.L. c. Ferris, Glovsky and Popeo PC, FOR 209A. and discussions with law en- “This legislation will ensure forcement, the defense bar, Dis- HARASSMENT that a broader range of harassment trict Attorneys and judges to VICTIMS AND victims are protected from poten- ensure maximum rights’ protec- tially dangerous and threatening tions. LAW Gov. Deval Patrick receives the signing individuals and circumstances, “A large number of people pen from Sen. Harriette Chandler. Rep. ENFORCEMENT Cory Atkins looks on (far right). while at the same time ensuring from both sides of the aisle and we have protections in the system from all different sectors came OFFICIALS On February 9th, Governor Deval to prevent misuse or abuse of the together to refine this sensitive STATE-WIDE, Patrick signed into law An Act to law,” said Chandler. and complex legislation,” said Prevent Harassment, sponsored by After being engrossed in the Representative Cory Atkins, the VICTIMS OF Senator Harriette Chandler (D- Senate in late 2009, Representa- lead co-sponsor in the HARASSMENT Worcester). It was a victory for tive Cory Atkins fought for the House. “I am proud of our col- harassment victims and law en- bill’s passage in the House. She laborative efforts to expand NOW HAVE THE forcement officials state-wide. was successful; the House unani- restraining order law and pro- The new law allows victims of mously passed it on January 28th. vide much-needed protection ABILITY TO FILE harassment to file criminally en- The bill was almost a decade in for victims, and I thank every- CRIMINALLY forceable protection orders regard- the making and was supported by one who made this possible.” less of perpetrators’ relationships favorable testimony from House Massachusetts has once again ENFORCEABLE to them. Caucus Chair Representative Al- proven to be part of the fore- PROTECTION Previously, Massachusetts law ice K. Wolf (D- Cambridge) and front in the fight against domes- granted a victim of harassment a Representative Cory Atkins (D- tic violence. The enactment ORDERS protection order only if the perpe- Concord), as well as many other brings the Commonwealth in trator was someone with whom the members co-sponsoring the legis- line with 38 states that have victim had a substantial relation- lation.